CorvAircraft> Alternators vs Dynamo's, was Corvair work

[Dave Morris "BigD"]

Whatever you decide to go with, make sure you have active 
notification of low voltage and high voltage, that you have a plan of 
action in case you find yourself running on battery alone, and that 
you have a way to quickly take the generator or alternator offline if 
it goes high voltage so you won't fry all your electronics.

In one of my latest Mooney magazines, a pilot described how his 
voltage regulator malfunctioned, causing intermittent high voltage 
that "spun the solder out of the commutator", killing the generator 
and literally causing smoke to pour from an EPROM in his Loran.  (We 
always guessed the magic ingredient inside those chips was smoke, and 
now we know!)

Of course these things always seem to happen in night-time IFR 
flights.  So he found himself flying on flashlight power without 
knowing how long his battery would last, with no plan of action.  It 
can happen in type certified aircraft designed to all sorts of TSOs, 
so it can happen to you too.  There are devices that will 
automatically disconnect your alternator in the event of an overvoltage.

Dave Morris


At 02:41 PM 4/7/2007, you wrote:

>--- Ron Milan <ronmilan at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> > Eric/and others:  Why the dynamo alternator....
>
>Ron,
>
>Search the archives.  This subject has been beat to
>death and boils down to:
>
>1.  Some will ONLY run what WW recommends
>2.  Others choose to run the dynamo because they can
>buy all the parts and make it a bolt-on
>3.  Others have opinions that the dynamo is better
>4.  Yet others prefer automotive style field excited
>alternators.
>
>To each his own.
>
>John B.
>
>
>
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